_________________________________________________________________________________________DESCRIPTIONThe accumulation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is destabilizing the global climate. Many strategies exist to capture carbon dioxide prior to emission and store it in a reservoir separate from the atmosphere. These methods encompass about half of the total emissions. The remainder, mainly from small and distributed sources, remains unabated. Air capture proposes a novel chemical process that removes carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere through a wet scrubbing process. Unlike stack scrubbers, which address highly concentrated carbon dioxide streams, this system looks at ways to process large volumes of air at low CO2 concentrations.Air capture acts like a tree, drawing carbon dioxide out of the air, as plants do during photosynthesis, but retaining the carbon and not releasing oxygen. The method comprises exposing solvent (sodium hydroxide) covered surfaces to air streams where the airflow is kept laminar and separating CO2 bound in the solvent. Slow airflow speeds are encouraged to maximize air contact time with the sorbent material and minimize the loss of kinetic energy in the system.A secondary electrochemical process strips the CO2 from the binding chemical. The chemical re-circulates through the filter, while the CO2 is set aside for disposal.
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